Mother warns of TikTok trend involving Needoh cubes that left her 9-year-old son with severe burns
A Plainfield mom is warning parents and kids about the danger of a popular toy that burned half of her son's face.
In the last couple of months, Loyola Medicine says they have had four patients come in with burns from a Needoh cube — a sensory toy filled with gelatinous material.
The toy itself has no problems, but there's a TikTok trend going around that encourages kids to put the gel toys in the microwave — causing them to explode and leading to significant burns.
It's the flexible jelly-like toys that are causing concern for parents after a TikTok trend is pushing kids to stick the Needoh cube toy in the microwave to make them more pliable, since they firm up over time.
"Him and a friend, through conversation, were talking about it at school, and then he, i guess, just got the idea to try it," said mother Whitney Grubb.
She said her 9-year-old son Caleb Chabolla put one of his Needoh cubes in the microwave a few weeks ago as they were getting ready for school.
"I heard him scream and I saw him take off running towards one of our bathrooms and that stuff had popped on his face," she said.
Grubb said when Caleb opened the microwave, it exploded all over his face, causing second-degree burns on one side and his hands. Whitney drove him to the emergency room.
"By the time, you know, we were settled in at Loyola, his eye was completely swollen shut, so I was immediately worried about his eye," she said.
"Because it's so viscous, it sticks, and it stays hot longer, it's going to cause a more significant burn," said Kelly McElligott.
McElligott with Loyola Medicine's burn center said once Caleb got to the hospital, they washed the burns, cut away dead skin, and applied ointment. They also had an ophthalmologist check on Caleb's eye and found his vision was thankfully unimpaired by the accident.
Doctors said Caleb is not the only patient falling for the trend.
"A child who heated it up in the microwave, then put her finger on it and her finger went through, and it burned her finger," McElligott said.
She said Caleb spent two days in the hospital and did not need skin grafts, but may develop scars.
Both she and Whitney now want families to be cautious.
"Do not heat these up in any way, shape, or form. Whether it's the microwave, hot water, those things can really be dangerous," McElligott said.
"Just talk with your kids, make sure they understand the safety of the things," Grubb said.
CBS Chicago did reach out to the company, Schylling, that manufactures Needoh, but did not hear back.
There are warning labels on the product that tell users not to heat them.
As for Caleb, he has a follow-up appointment at the burn clinic tomorrow morning and goes back to school later this week.